Sometimes you have to say no in order to say yes. Learn to master the word “no” and you will have time to say “yes” to the things that matter.
You have to learn to say “no.” Some people have trouble saying “no.” It can become a big problem, because the ability to say no is part of becoming your own person. We are made in the image of God, and saying “no” was how God created the world. He said “no” to the sun when it wanted to stick around at night, and “no” to the moon when it wanted to shine during the day, and so on. You will never be the person God intended you to be if you do not learn to say “no.”
You have to learn to say “no” to good things. We say “no” to good things so we can say “yes” to the best things. There are always going to be more good things to do. You can’t do them all. You are not supposed to do them all. You get time to do the most important things when you learn to say “no” to good things.
You can learn to say “no” if you trust that God is in charge of the Universe. You are not going to have the time you need if you think that you need to keep the world going along with giving attention to your own priorities. Jesus said that only one thing is needed. The one thing is what God did through Jesus to save the world, and it has already been done. The Universe is under control. When we trust that God is in charge of the Universe, we can learn to say no. When we learn to say no, we get more time. When we get more time, we can say “yes” to the things that matter.
In our sermon this Sunday we will learn how to say “no” in order to say “yes.”